Wish Me Luck
by Lafayette1777
Summary: Set in the Last Olympian, this is the battle in New York in the view of Will Solace, son of Apollo. Will/OC.
1. Promises

Disclaimer: Sadly, I own only my own characters that I've added. Part of this story will be told in the point of view of an OC called Violet Alexander.

Suggested song to listen to: "White Blank Page" By Mumford & Sons (because I've had it in my head all day and it's awesome).

**Wish Me Luck**

Will:

Violet has a familiar expression on her face as she looks around at the other demigods.

Since Annabeth and Percy are going solo, she's leading the Athena Cabin herself. I don't envy her. It's one thing to lead a cabin during summer camp, a whole other thing to lead platoon. I know she can do it, though. She's not the kind of person to screw up under pressure.

We're dividing up by cabins, heading to where we'll defending the bridges and tunnels leading into New York. I don't know the area very well- if I'm not at camp, I'm at home in Lafayette, Louisiana- but Michael Yew lives here, and knows his way around. Violet's from Cincinnati, and I see her hurriedly scribbling down directions on her arm in sharpy from Annabeth. Her cabin's taking the 59th Street Bridge, mine is taking the Williamsburg. I try not to think that I might never see her again, if this goes badly.

I've known Violet for years, all the time I've been at camp. We've been dating since Christmas, though it's been a long time coming, if you ask anyone who's been paying attention. Talk about sexual tension.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm Will Solace, son of Apollo.

This is how the last battle of the second Titan War unfolded.

Before we split off, I grab Violet by the arm. Neither of us is wearing armor, she because she doesn't need it (if you've ever seen her fight, you'd know what I'm talking about), and me because I'm a sniper, and pretty damn good at it, or so they say.

"Will, don't get emotional on me." Violet says, her characteristic humor in the face of danger taking over. I look around. Almost everyone is making out, hugging their friends, or wishing eachother luck. I follow suit.

I lean down until our lips meet, and Violet doesn't protest against our unusual public display of affection. We usually more private when it comes to make-out sessions. We make an exception for the gravity of the situation. Her arms slip around my neck blindly, both of our eyes are closed.

When we finally break apart, Violet gives me sly smile. "Gods be with you." Before bolting off to lead her cabin. Four words, and as usual, Violet can pack more meaning into them then anyone else.

"Come on, man." Michael says, patting me on the shoulder. I'm his second in command, have been since Lee Fletcher died in the battle of the Labyrinth and Michael took over the cabin. "You'll see her again, I promise." He gives me a melancholy smile, and I trust him completely. But whatever happens today, none of us can control fate. There are no guarantees.

I wish myself, and everyone I care about, and everyone in the camp, as much luck as I can muster.


	2. Annabeth

I let out a shaky breath as I see the force coming across the bridge.

I hate to be cynical, being a child of the sun god and all, but their aren't anywhere near enough Apollo kids to take on a army that size. We're not confrontational like the Ares or Athena kids in battle. We will gladly pick all of our enemy's off from the top of a tree with three flaming arrows. We don't like to call it cowardice, it's just our fighting style. Atleast we don't bat our eyelashes and hope for the best like Aphrodite kids.

"We're screwed." I say to Michael.

"True," He replies. "But might as well go out with a bang." He pulls a sonic arrow out of his quiver, notches it in less than a second, and sends it flying into the front lines. Several monsters disintegrate immediately, and those who don't do their part in spreading the panic.

"Oh, this should be fun." Michael says, a hint of a smile on his ferret-like features. "Apollo cabin, charge!"

We spread out, taking strategic positions all over the bridge where we get good vantage points for shots. I lie down on top of Mercedes, and take aim sideways, trying to be as flat as possible, minimizing the possibility of getting hit by a flying axe, or whatever else may be floating around.

I fire three exploding arrows in rapid succession, all in less than a second. It takes a chunk out of the oncoming line, but there are plenty behind them. I don't see an end to the stampede of monsters, and everyone runs out of arrows eventually.

Things are really deteriorating when Percy and Annabeth show up, on the backs of Blackjack and Porkpie, the pegasus. That's when Kronos himself appears, and any hope of saving this bridge is shot straight to hell.

"Fuck." I hear Michael mutter as he looks at the cracks spreading across the asphalt. Annabeth goes down, and before I get to her to try to help, she's scooped up by Blackjack, which is probably for the better since he'll take her back to the Plaza Hotel, out of danger.

"Will!" Michael yells over the cracking of concrete and the screeches of kids and monsters. "Get the others and get the hell off the bridge!"

"What about you?" I yell back.

"I'll be there in a second!" I hesitate, sensing he has no intention of following us, but instead trying to stay behind and get himself killed. He's valiant, I know he'd do it. But I don't have time to argue. I trust him enough to keep himself safe.

"Come on!" I call to what remains of my siblings, which is considerably less than we started off with. The thought is sickening.

Kayla and Austin get to me first, followed my Jane, Darren, Adam, Savannah, Audrey, Hope, Tristan and Bradley. A few others bring up the rear. It's not enough. I see Esperanza and Venus come around the corner, supporting Lionel between them, and I know I can't wait any longer, the bridge is almost completely gone. I hope there are others who made it off the bridge and are waiting for us somewhere.

We sprint the best we can away from the bridge and regroup a few hundred feet on the Manhattan side. Michael is not with us.

"Oh, shit." I mutter.

"What is it?" Jane asks, tossing her brunette braid over one shoulder. Her face has smears of blood and dirt on it, but her blue eyes are as intense as ever.

"Michael." I say solemnly. She doesn't have to look around to know what I'm talking about.

"Hmm," She says. "Shit indeed."

Jane is a couple years younger than me, but her resolve never falters. That's why she's so good in battle. Emotion doesn't get in the way when it comes to Jane.

Percy's sprinting toward us, a frantic expression played across his features.

"Will!" He skids to a stop in front of me. "I need your help. You can heal, right?"

"Yeah." I'm one of the lucky Apollo kids who has the gift.

"It's Annabeth."

"Right, I'm coming." I turn to Jane. "Take the others who can walk and look for Michael, please."

"Alright."

I hate to think that I might have to get used to giving orders. Might as well be polite about it.

Percy and I "borrow" a motorcycle and head toward the Plaza. We get yelled at by a bronze roman goddess, who takes the liberty of throwing bronze fruit at us as we jog into the hotel.

The Hunters direct us up to the top floors, where demigods have completely taken over, washing up, treating wounds, sharpening weapons, refueling from the minibars and taking short naps if they could. I don't have time to properly look for Violet, Percy's broken into a dead sprint toward the veranda. Not even Jake Mason with a status report can slow him down. I know how he feels. It's painful to even think of Violet wounded, or worse.

Annabeth's laid out on lounge chair, being tended to by Silena beauregard. I immediately that something is very off. Despite the blankets thrown over her, she's sweaty and shivering. This is clearly more than a stab wound.

The Athena kids surrounding her part so I can get to Annabeth. Violet's not among them, which makes me nervous. I kneel down next to her and carefully peel back the blankets till I can see her arm. I remove the makeshift bandages, and peer at the wound in silence. I can feel everyone holding their breath. The wound's pretty deep, but no major arteries or organs are in danger. The bleeding's stopped, but the blade definitely was poisoned.

"Annabeth..." I can hear Percy barely keeping himself together behind me.

"Poison on the dagger." Annabeth manages to mutter. "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"

It's not to bad though. The poison hasn't spread past her arm. It's a good thing someone had the sense to make sure we got here quickly.

I tell everyone this and hear the collective sigh of relief. "Somebody get me some nectar."

Percy hands me a canteen and, as gently as possible, I clean out the wound. Impressively, Annabeth stays still, only cutting off blood flow to Percy's fingers. I apply the patching silver paste and mutter a hymn to my father. I re-bandage the wound, get to my feet shakily.

Healing may be a gift, but it still takes a lot out of me. I'm fairly sure I'm as pale and sickly looking as Annabeth now.

"That should do it." I say. "But we're going to need some mortal supplies." I find the nearest piece of hotel stationary and scribble down the drugs that I need which we can get without prescription. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal-"

"I would." Travis volunteered.

I give him a look. I'm not in the mood. I can feel a headache coming on, my eyes are barely open, and I'm way stressed out. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've gotta feeling that we're going to have a lot more people to treat."

As Travis sprinted off to raid a drugstore, I rubbed my eyes and left Percy and Annabeth some privacy.


	3. Regrets

Suggested song: "Nothing in my way" by Keane

I find Violet, thank the Gods, washing her face in a hotel sink.

There are a few other kids in the suite, passed out on the queen beds or raiding the minibar. I recognize Katie from the Demeter cabin and Nyssa from the Hephaestus cabin. A few hunters I don't know are around, too.

"Hey." Violet says. She's got a split bottom lip and a long cut over her right eyebrow. Thankfully, that appears to be it. "You look terrible."

"Thanks."

"What happened?" She starts to dry her face, carefully dabbing at her no doubt stinging lip. I see the sweat glistening along her hairline, and her eyes are barely open.

"Healing." I say. It's hard to get out more than one word, but I succeed. "it's nothing."

"Are you sure? I mean, you literally look 'green around the gills'" She scowls worriedly at me.

I open my mouth to try to reassure her, and barely make it to the toilet before I'm heaving. I feel Violet's comforting hand on my back.

Having successfully lost my lunch, I lay back against the cool porcelain of the bathtub behind me, face pale and clammy, eyes closed.

"Shit, Will. Hold on." I hear her scoot toward the the sink, and a few seconds later the water runs. Soon afterward I have a wet cloth in my hand. I feel her palm pressed against my sweaty forehead before I bring up the cloth.

"What the hell's going on?" She asks, keeping my hands steady with her own as she kneels next to me.

"I have no idea." I manage to say without blowing chunks again.

We both instinctively shield our eyes as there's a blinding flash of light, directly in front of us.

"I can explain that." Apollo stands in front of, bleeding ichor and wearing filthy robes. "I can't stay long, I'm supposed to be fighting Typhon, but you need an explanation."

I stare at him wearily threw narrowed eyes. The guy's literally glowing, which isn't helping my headache in the slightest. I wait for him to continue.

"Healing is a helpful gift, but your mortal body can only take so much of it. You healed someone this morning, correct?"

I nodded. Savannah, whose only 6, scraped her knee this morning.

"You have to be careful, because magic is foreign in the body, and doesn't react well to too much of it. I'm sorry, Will. It sucks, I know. But you do to much healing in a short stretch of time, and it could really screw you up. I'm talking like, coma and death screwed up." Apollo really does look apologetic.

Something that looks like a pager buzzes on the gold belt of his robes. You'd think the Gods would be more technologically up to date.

"Gotta fly." Apollo smiled. "Good luck, son. I'll be watching." He disappeared in a flash of white light, that I registered behind my eyelids.

I get hesitantly to my feet, and my stomach does flip flops as I lean heavily on Violet.

"You're not going out there again, are you?" She asks.

"Gotta." I say. "Michael's gone."

She goes pale. Or paler than usual with her ginger- haired skin coloring.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly.

I started to walk unevenly toward the hotel room door and out into the hallway. Violet grabbed my arm, her grey eyes burning a hole in my brown ones.

"Don't go out there."

"I don't have a choice." I growled.

"You'll get yourself killed. You're not strong enough. I'm just trying to keep you safe."

"Do me a favor, and don't. I can take care of myself, and I thought you of all people would know that sometimes you just have to do things." I growl at her. What can I say? I'm stressed out.

She bites her lip, her face dark. It's not like Violet not to retort when someone's giving her shit. And I am most definitely giving her shit.

Finally, shakes her head. "Whatever. I'll see you later, Will." Without another word, she stalked off. I saw her head toward a corner of the room where a battle map had been drawn. I saw her sister, Snapdragon, and Snapdragon's girlfriend pat her on the back sympathetically.

It wasn't quite an argument to any onlooker, but to us, who never really have the energy to scream at eachother like Percy and Annbeth, there's more tension than meets the eye.

I leave the hotel, and grab the motorcycle Percy and I rode in on. I'm feeling a little better now, or atleast not nauseous anymore. When I get to the Williamsburg Bridge, my siblings are still combing the destroyed pavement for any sign of Michael. I turn off my walkie talkie which every head counselor and second has, because the constant chatter is driving me insane.

"Any luck?" I ask Jane, who's conferring with Austin. That's when I notice Savannah sitting on the curb, sobbing as Tristan and Hope try to comfort her. Michael was her flesh-and-blood brother.

"No." Jane says.

I look around at the wrecked bridge. I know it's unlikely that Michael would have made it out of this, and we wouldn't have found him by now. I don't want to give up hope, but we can't keep trying to find him if he can't be found.

"OK," I say to Jane. "I'm calling it. Jane, you're second in command. We'll be needed back at the hotel for healings. But we'll have to be careful. I'll explain later."

I turn to the others. "Come on, we're moving out."

No one argues. We're all thinking the same thing.

We limp back to the hotel. Several of us are crying. We're all in pain. I turn on my walkie talkie again as we get close, just to check in. What I hear surprises me.

"Has anybody seen Will Solace? I can't get in touch with him." It's Malcolm's voice.

"I'm here, what is it?" I say, pressing down the button on the side.

"Oh, um, I don't know how to tell you this...it's Violet."


	4. Half a Second Too Late

Violet:

A drizzle had started to fall outside, as I stood at the grand window in the hotel suite. The skyline of New York was as beautiful as ever, but I could see the black clouds and lightning on the horizon. Our time was running out.

I think about Will, and rage burns that I backed down from a fight. But this was not the time. More important matters to be seen to. I'd duke it out with him later, if it was even necessary.

I grabbed Malcolm and hurried down the hallway, grabbing all free Athena kids as I went. I managed to scrounge up Soletta, Marlena, Jackson, Snapdragon, Kyle, Graciela, Jordan, Chase, Avery, Tally, and Roscoe. It's not a full force, but we'll manage. Probably.

We just barely managed to stop the force coming over the 59th Street bridge, driving them back from Manhattan. According to the scouts, they're trying to make a break for it while we're not looking and cross over again. All the other cabins are busy, so they sent us back. Only us.

I dunno, maybe we'll get lucky.

I pull my fiery hair back in a tight pony tail and brush some of the shit off my orange tank top and jeans. Might as well make my corpse look nice.

c c c

"Mother fucker." I mutter as I sway in the wind. A breeze has lifted up from the river, moving the cord I'm dangling from ever so slightly. It's one of Daedalus's inventions, one that we could put together quickly. One end has large, secure grappling hook, while the other attaches to the belt around my waist. Being the Athena Cabin, we came up with a complex strategy in order to keep ourselves alive.

The grappling hook is wrapped around the railing of the 59th street bridge, and I hang about twenty feet below it. There is one person to my right, Avery, and two people hanging on the other side of the bridge, Chase and Tally. Malcolm and the rest of the cabin are waiting on the Manhattan end of the bridge, hiding, waiting for the signal.

The front of enemies coming across the bridge is huge, lead by the monsters and followed up by demigods. We figured the monsters were too dimwitted to notice the hooks, so when they're halfway over the bridge we'll come up out of nowhere, destroy the monsters, and then Malcolm will appear and we'll beat the crap out of the demigods.

Malcolm shoots me the bird from his hiding place on the Manhattan side. I then shoot to Avery, who shoots it to Chase, who shoots it to Tally. The signal having gone full circle, I push down the lever on my belt and fly upwards before slamming into the side of the bridge. I get a foothold on the bridge and propel myself over the railing, gracefully rolling onto the pavement and pressing the button to release the cord from my belt. Once everyone's up, and the monsters are looking at us in confusion, I let out a battle screech and we move forward, weapons raised.

The monsters barely know what hits them, and they are all dust in the wind very quickly, that's when the demigods are upon us, and Malcolm's group jumps up and runs down the bridge to join us. The ratio's about three to one, and as you may have guessed, we don't have the advantage. Soon I'm surrounded by four demigods, all of which I know.

Tara Rix, Arthur Benford, Emily O'Hara and Shane Wilson. They were all at camp a few years ago, and all disappeared about the same time. I didn't know them very well, but I didn't believe, or didn't want to believe, that they would have deserted us. They were all unclaimed, and what disturbs me most is Tara's gray-eyed stare burning into my own, and Arthur's coloring which is much to similar to Will's.

They haven't attacked yet, a little circle of silence in the middle of the battle raging around us. They just look at me, and I know they remember me. I can't tell what they're thinking, but I hope they'll back off. I don't want to hurt them. It is because of this that I speak up.

"I feel as though you should know exactly what you're getting into as of now." I say calmly. "Call it mirandizing. I don't want to kill you, but I'd much rather just subdue and dishonor you, if you take another step forward. But If you prove to be an actual threat to me or anyone I care about, then I _will_ kill you, and you won't like it." A bit harsh, but it got the point across. I could see the gears turning in their head, the look of regret flashing across their eyes.

Except in one. "What are you doing?" Tara screeches. "Can't you see she's just bluffing, playing with our heads?" The others shake their heads viciously, clearing their minds. "Kill her!" Tara cries.

And I leap into action. My pull off my bracelet, which is vaguely African, brown and black and with cowrie shells stitched in. The bracelet extends into the golden hilt of the my half swords, and from the hilt grows the black, curved blades themselves. They are made of Eternal Meteor, which is even rarer than celestial bronze. The swords were a gift from my mom, and I carry them with me always. With them, I am a formidable force to reckon with.

Tara is the first to swing, lifting her sword above her head and trying to bring it down on mine. I see it coming a mile away and block it with an x-block with my swords. I kick her in the chest and feel the breath leave her body. She goes flying backward. Shane tries to slash me with his sword, but I swiftly disarm him and twist his arm until I hear a satisfying _snap_. He hunches over in pain, and I know he's out for the count. But Tara's back on her feet, and she looks angry. Emily swipes her dagger out, quick as lightning, and manages to create a long scratch above my chest, near my collar bones. I'm so surprised, that without thinking I break her blade and run my own through her shoulder. It's a cruel blow, but not fatal if she gets it taken care of. But it's just another of the quartet that I don't have to deal with.

Arthur tries to thrust his spear but I dodge and catch the wooden spear between my two swords. I twist and the thing splinters beyond hope of repair. I smash the butt of my sword against his helmet and he crumples. My sword clashes with Tara's, and as it turns out she's pretty good with her clunky weapon. It's a heavy, uncoordinated sword, but she wields it well. Kronos just needed bodies for his army, they didn't necessarily have to survive. For a moment I feel bad for Tara, so young, so mislead.

We dance for a few moments, but though she's good she's no match for me. And I know she's holding back too, but I have no idea why. This little fight has no life in it. I'm not trying to subdue her yet, and she has another agenda. Her eyes flick behind me, and I connect the dots in half a second.

As it turns out, it's a half a second too late.

I turn around just in time to see the sniper take his final aim and fire. I can't move fast enough, and the celestial bronze bullet goes directly through my right side abdomen.

The idea of demigod guns is a relatively new concept, only a few prototypes have been made. Because celestial bronze is rare, and bullets can only be used once, it's unsustainable. Apparently, Kronos managed to get his hands on one, probably illegitimately. I blame it on bad luck.

I fall to my knees, clutching my wound in pain. I can barely comprehend what is going on around me as blood spreads across my hand and shirt. Tara smiles cruelly, and waves to the sniper amiably. He waves back victoriously. I give them points for managing to dupe _me_ in battle, which is no small feat.

"I _will _kill you." She imitates, and laughs evilly.

"Well played." I choke out through gritted teeth.

"I know, sis." I totally knew it, but how did she? She must have seen the surprise on my face, cause she continued. "Once I decided to join Kronos, my mother decided to try to claim me and turn me back. Not because she loved me. Because she wanted another body on her side. But it was too late. You're a sucker, Violet, thinking Athena cares about you. I can tell you first hand, she doesn't. She doesn't care about any of us."

"You're wrong." I say.

"And how would you know?" Her eyes are cold and unforgiving.

"Because she gave me this sword!" Before she can move, I summon the strength to snatch up one my swords that I had dropped, and run it through her abdomen. I pull it out again, and she hits the ground, unconscious. I feel an icy twist of guilt in my gut at hurting my own sister, someone who doesn't deserve to die, and had right to be mad at the gods. But I saw the way she held her dagger, poised to strike. She intended to finish me off, and I'm not going to sit there and be killed if I can help it. But then again, I might die anyway, and then I have accomplished nothing.

Pain shoots through me, and I hit the ground, lying on my back, putting feeble pressure on my heavily bleeding wound. I'm lying there pitifully when Malcolm sees me and runs over. The battle's pretty much done with, and our strategy's worked. The enemy force has been neutralized, dead or running away with their tails between their legs, with only one fatality on our side. I can see Jackson's lifeless form to my left, and emotion overwhelms me. Another sibling gone. I pass out as my remaining brothers and sisters lift me from the pavement.


	5. Oh My Gods

Suggested song: "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons (No reason other than awesomeness)

Will:

I leave Jane in charge and sprint through the hotel. There are no other Apollo kids who can heal in their, and I still don't how long they've been trying to reach me.

This is probably worse case scenario _ever_.

The huntresses are gone when I get into the lobby, I guess they're off fighting. I give up on waiting for the elevator and take the stairs two at a time. I can barely breathe by the time I get to the upper floors, but I'm there.

"Where?" I say between giant breaths.

"Over here." Malcolm says, looking grim.

I follow him into the biggest suite in the hotel, which appears to be acting as a sickbay for all injured demigods. Problem is, there were no Apollo kids around to help them.

"Can I use your walkie talkie?" I ask Malcolm. He nods.

"Jane? Bring the others up here. There are people to be healed." I had left my own walkie talkie with her, If it be necessary to get in touch.

Violet's laid out on a couch, eyes closed breathing shallow. A herd of Athena kids surround her, as well as Annabeth and Percy plus few other of her close friends. They make way for me.

"Oh my gods." I muttered. She is _covered_ in blood. Her shirt is halfway pulled up, exposing the bullet firmly implanted in the flesh. It's a horrifying sight, and I know the only way that she's gonna make it out of this, that _I'm_ gonna make it out of this, is if I do the impossible. Apollo's words echo in my head.

"_But you do to much healing in a short stretch of time, and it could really screw you up. I'm talking like, coma and death screwed up."_

Such comforting thoughts.

But I don't have a choice. I get a sibling up with a medkit, which has the basic tools, plus ambrosia and nectar. I check Violet's pulse quickly, which is faint, but still beating. Her chest barely moves and I'm very glad she's passed out, because what I'm about to do is gonna hurt like Hades' wrath.

I pull out the forceps and scalpel from the medkit. "Anyone who has a weak stomach," I announce to the crowd around me. "Should go find something else to do."

In the next half hour, I tease the bullet from Violet's flesh. It's nicked several organs, and I have to be exceptionally careful not to fuck anything up further. I have to pull the tiny bronze bullet out in pieces, and with the help of one of our best healers, Hope, we get it out with Violet still alive.

Now comes the hard part, as if that wasn't hard enough.

I tentatively clean the wound with nectar, making sure I don't inflame the damaged tissue anymore and cause further bleeding, internal or external. All of the medical stuff is instinctive to Apollo kids, but some of us are better at acting on it then others.

Once we've cleaned out the wound as much as possible, and I'm up to my elbows in Violet's blood, which also covers most of her exposed skin, comes the riskiest part. No one else has the strength needed to heal a wound of this momentum, and I barely do. I owe to Violet to atleast die trying.

All I think about as I place my hands on the wound as how much of a complete bitch I was to her, just a few hours ago. She'd disagree, say it was her fault.

_Wait a minute_, I think, _that's bullshit._ When has Violet ever let me off the hook for something? No, she isn't going to say it was her fault. But that's okay, I guess.

I whisper a hymn to Apollo, and my hands start to glow with golden light. I've never seen that happen before. It's unnerving, but I let the power grow over Violet.

5 seconds later, everything goes black.


	6. Life Saving

Violet:

"Oh, thank the gods." From somewhere, there's a sigh of relief. There's a warmth dissipating around my abdomen, and a strange tingling in my limbs. I open my eyes.

Malcolm is staring down at me. "Your pulse is a lot stronger."

"Um...good?" I look at the amount of eyes staring at me. "What the hell's going on?"

Malcolm thinks quickly, I can practically see the improvisation in his mind. "Um... What's the last thing you remember?"

It only takes me a moment to remember everything leading up to passing out on the 59th Street Bridge. Doesn't explain while I'm not dead right now, though.

"So I passed out." I say. "Then what?"

"Well, we brought you up here, and tried to get in touch with the Apollo cabin." Malcolm gets increasingly twitchy as he retells the story. Not a good sign. "And we got a hold of Will, who came up here with Hope and a medkit...then he did this crazy healing thing with glowing hands and then you were ok." The last words come out as a rush, and make very little sense, but what does make sense when your fighting titans in Manhattan?

I try to sit up, and pain shoots through me. But when I look at the wound, it's so much better than it was. Amazing. Whatever Will did, it was powerful. And that's when I remember Apollo's warning, and panic rises in my throat.

"Where's Will?" I ask immediately.

"Um..." If it's possible, Malcolm looks even more uncomfortable than before. His gaze shoots to a second group of people to my right, all leaning over something. I slide my legs off the side of the now bloodstained couch, and with a fair amount of cursing bilingually, I'm kneeling next to him, the crowd having parted for me.

His eyes are closed, and his skin is pale and clammy. He looks much worse than he did after healing Annabeth, and the guilt is already clawing my insides.

"How long has he out?" I ask Hope next to me.

"Ten minutes." She says. I check his pulse, which I'm sure everyone else has, and it is faint. "We've been trying to give him nectar and ambrosia." Hope continues. "But it has done nothing. I'm afraid we'll just have to wait and hope for the best."

I lift his head ever so slightly, then push myself forward so that it rests in my lap.

And then I wait.


	7. Excitement

Will:

Hearing comes before sight, when I finally regain consciousness.

"I can't believe it's over." Someone says. "And we're not dead!"

"No shit we're not dead, but a lot of others are."

"You have a point, but their deaths weren't for nothing. And we have a new oracle! Did you hear? It's that Rachel Dare girl." That was Hope's voice, definitely. I recognize the giddy excitement that drags on each syllable.

"Yeah, I heard. That's good. But we have to pack up and head back to camp before the mortals wake up and see what fucked up their city so bad. Ready to move, Violet?"

The next person to speak causes my heart to skip a beat. "Yeah, I guess. How are we transporting the wounded?"

"Godly help, I believe. They owe us." The voice is Snapdragon's.

"That'll make it easier." Violet's words are melancholy, embedded with worry. I realize it's probably a good time to open my eyes.

When things finally come into focus, I'm staring up at Violet's bloodstained chin.

"Hey, he's awake!" Hope says, and Violet looks down hopefully. I blink a few times and she grins.

"Thank the gods. Were starting to think we'd lost you there." She says, heaving a sigh of relief. "Quick, do you remember who you are?"

"William Brandon Solace."

"Where were you born?"

"Lafayette, Louisiana."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Of course, you're Scarlet Johansson."

"What?!"

"Kidding, Violet."

She scowls in mock irritation. "I knew that." Her face then lights up with a grin.

"Thank you." She says softly, and it sounds odd for Violet to say something so polite. "You saved my life."

" You would've done the same for me." I say, and the odd moment of naked emotion is over. She helps me to gently sit up, with some effort.

"How long was I out?" I ask.

"Somewhere around four hours." Violet replies. "With Apollo's warning...well I was starting to worry."

"Yeah, we got seriously lucky." Hope says, for once serious. "We can't screw around with that shit."

I massage temple, feeling a headache coming on. With Violet's support, I get shakily to my feet, nearly collapsing a second later. As Violet narrowly catches me and Snapdragon rushes to our aid, I see a carefully masked wince of pain flash across Violet's features.

"What's wrong?" I ask immediately.

"Just a little sore." She gives me a pained smile. And that's all she'll say. I trust her usually when it comes to her own health. And it was a bullet wound, after all. Those a tricky.

"So, we won?" I say as they help me to settle into a couch in the hotel suite.

Violet's face lights up. "Yeah, we did. Percy and Annabeth negotiated terms with the gods, and the remainder of Kronos' army has been destroyed or captured. We're about to go back to camp, actually."

"And Luke?" I ask.

"Died a hero's death." Violet says quietly. "Redeemed himself, you could say."

"What was the final death count?" I ask tentatively.

"About forty. A lot less than the original estimates for a victory." Snapdragon says.

"Wow." I say. "Wow. I mean, everything's gonna be ok now."

"I know." Violet says, and takes a seat, leaning into me. "I know."

**Author's Note: This isn't the end, not quite yet. At most, there'll be two more chapters of follow up. Also, does anyone else think it's incredibly weird that the main character of the movie _In Time_ (played by Justin Timberlake) is named Will Solace? I mean, that can't be a coincidence. Not like its a common name or anything. I wonder if Rick Riordan knows.**


	8. The Future

Suggested song: "Morning Has Broken" sung by Cat Stevens

Back at camp, the air is so charged with magical power that I can practically see the blue sparks cracking. This oracle is powerful-that much is obvious to us Apollo kids. We spend all week having prophetic dreams.

Most of them center around our own futures, but some stray to close friends. The Tuesday afterwards I see a dark haired guy and a blonde girl getting married on a familiar beach. But the ones that involve myself-those are what cause my heart to race. There is positive energy in the air, showing us the good things in our futures.

I see an older Violet standing with a diploma from Juilliard-she's been playing the viola for as long as I've known her. I see myself in a white coat, stitched with my name and the prefix _Dr._ in front of it, standing next to a guy who really needs to shave( I have no idea who it is, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it). I see Violet's hand with a delicate ring on it, and a little girl with with my dark hair and a familiar pair of gray eyes.

Despite the celebratory energy, not everything I see is good. I see more wars to come, and I see golden burial shrouds. I see friends in tears. What baffles me most is a vision of Hades in a black marble room, staring at me with irritation. I don't know what this means, but I guess I'll find out. For better of for worse.

We cremate those who lost their lives all together on the sunday after we return to camp. I watch my siblings go up in flames and think that what is the end for them is just the beginning for me. I will make Michael proud, as leader of the Apollo cabin.

We have a feast which is both honoring the dead and celebrating the living. When I get back to my cabin around midnight, I see the floorboards vibrating ever so slightly beneath my feet. I am momentarily confused, then remember.

Below the Apollo cabin, there are six soundproof rooms for instrument and vocal practice, or if you really need a quiet place to talk. Usually only Apollo kids use them, but if other kids at camp play an instrument and need a private place to practice, then we rent them out.

I head down the back staircase, pulling on a jacket against the late night chill as I go. The basement hall is gray, adorned with pictures of famous Apollo kids. The Beatles, Parliament, Mumford and Sons, the guys from the Mighty Boosh, Adam Lambert, Amy Winehouse, Cat Stevens, Lady Antebellum, plenty of others as they circulated through camp.

She's picked the lock of the first room and commandeered a music stand, though she appears to be playing from memory. Violet's face serene, a tiny smile on her lips. And it's contagious. I feel the edges of my lips lift up as I look at her make something movingly perfect with her viola.

And I watch for some time as her bow moves fluently over the the strings, and t is quiet possibly the most beautiful moment of my life.

**Author's Note: Well, that's the end. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys are inspiring. I love the sound of viola, which is why I (and my OC) play it, encase anybody's wondering why I had Violet play it. Thanks for reading! Live long and prosper.**


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